Eyes of Steel 6
A disaster, that's what the Hokage thought of the current situation.
None of the three academy students had perished, that was good.
But there were a number of other problems that had come up.
Naruto had been informed at last of his burden, he had also suffered a large shock to his entire body and become very lucid of late, which every medic-nin that tried to solve had been unsuccessful.
When the boy was back to full strength, the Hokage had sworn to Naruto that he would explain everything, to which he just nodded and continued to stare into space.
The Uchiha survivor was also not in the best of condition. The laceration on his back would be easy enough for the Medic-nin's to knit back together, but the burns that he sustained to his face and arms were not possible to be fixed, at least not by them.
They would have to be tended to by one of The Thirds apprentices, Tsunade the slug senin.
The Hyuga heiress however was relatively unharmed, apart from her ego, or what little she had of one anyway.
The problem still remained however, that they both now knew of Naruto's secret.
At first glance they seemed to respect him still, but to a trained eye such as the Hokage's, it could be noticed that they were a little a little more apprehensive about visiting their demon housing companion, than they usually were.
Even the Hyuga girl looked as though torn between hugging him or running.
The Hokage sighed a smoke trail and shook his head.
The door opened with an aged creak to reveal a slightly disgruntled looking toad hermit.
"Ah Jiraiya, right on time, sit please" spoke the Hokage, his visitor complying silently.
"What happened Jiraiya, this is a mess if I've ever seen one, and I have seen many".
The white haired sage slumped forward and began to help himself to a saucer of the Hokage's sake before speaking.
"The snake sent a retrieval team for Mizuki that bared my way to the boy, youngish bunch but hellish strong".
He took another round of sake "They were all juiced up by curse seals" the Hokage looked up from his calligraphy wide eyed.
"What" he spoke loudly "How many, was it the seal of heaven?"
Jiraiya grimaced "Five, one could use his own bones as weapons, he looked to be the leader of the team but seemed rather sluggish for a leader of his 'skill'. A girl who had some wicked strong genjutsu, a chap who could split himself into two separate bodies, and a guy the size and build of an Akamichi with a strong affinity for earth jutsu and grappling" Jiraiya rubbed his neck "the last one was almost like a spider who sat in trees slinging some sharp, spiky crap at me".
"I see" spoke the Hokage at last, not wanting to interrupt his students recollection.
"It seems as though Orochimaru is stepping up his game, becoming bolder, foolish really" the Hokage shook his head.
He lowered his pipe "Any of the news on Akatsuki then?"
Jiraiya nodded "I've been meaning to talk to you about this"
He leaned forwards on the chair he had perched himself on, placing his elbows on his knees.
"They have increased movement in water country and have been spotted within the walls, on top of that the Mizukage has gone missing".
The Hokages eyes narrowed.
"I think we can make a guess on what happened there, and since the bloodline purges he has never been very popular. The populace would most likely welcome his disposition.
Jiraiya grunted "Also on this topic, I have a request".
The Hokage raised an eyebrow "Go on".
"I wish for you to keep to the original plan with Minato's son, the sensei we picked out will do just fine. Kakashi has assured me that it is for the best".
The Third nodded slowly "Yes, it was my intention to keep to the path we have laid over the years, why, is there something else?"
Jiraiya paused "I'd like the second path to be accelerated however, he needs to know as much as possible before they come for him, and they will, mark my words".
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked very deflated as he emptied his pipe "Why must so much go wrong for him? I try my best to keep him from coming to harm, and yet trouble seems to follow him like a magnet"
He shook his head "If I, the Hokage cannot aid him, who can?"
Jiraiya shrugged "He's too much like his father I guess, besides, he has always managed to help himself when he needed it. He's a resourceful boy that one".
The Hokage smiled lightly "Perhaps. Well you have my permission, make yourself known to him soon and begin guiding him to his full potential. For Kami knows how long we really have".
Hinata and Sasuke had been sat on a bench outside of Naruto's room for fifteen minutes while he was getting checked over by a nurse, and yet, neither of them had spoken a word.
Hinata was nervous, Sasuke could see that, she had been playing with her hands in that familiar way again, poking her index fingers together over and over.
The problem was, have was nervous to. In truth, he did not know what to make of the situation.
One side of him, the side drilled into him by his father, his Uchiha side was warning him to not enter the room.
But the side that had kindled a friendship with two unlikely people, the village pariah and the heiress of a direct rival clan, his Sasuke side, was screaming at him that he needed them now more than ever.
The nurse exiting the room clicked the door shut loudly disrupting Sasuke's thoughts.
"Okay, you can go in to see him now, but there are a few things that you need to be made aware of first".
She looked at the two of them individually, and seeing a nod from them both continued, pleased.
"He is currently sedated, although his condition has been improving since he was brought in, he is not able to sleep without the sedative."
Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other uneasily.
She reached into the pocket that was in the front of her medical garb and pulled out what looked like a Konoha ninja headband.
"Tell me, what do you see?" asked the nurse
Both heirs looked carefully at the headband to see a dark crust over the plate of metal and a number of very tiny spikes.
"I-Is that...b-blood?" inquired Hinata
The nurse nodded sadly "yes, the Hokage delivered the boy his headband for graduating the other day, but he was sedated at the time, so he left it in the boys hand as a surprise for when he woke up"
She pauses "When I went in to check on him he was awake, bawling his eyes out with this essentially nailed to his hand"
Hinata gasped "T-That's h-horrible!"
"I agree" muttered Sasuke "That caused it?"
The nurse frowned "Well, that we needed special help to diagnose. The slug Senin Tsunade is in town as per the Hokage's orders, who by the way will see to the burns on your face young sir".
She gestured to Sasuke who nodded slowly.
"So...what is wrong with him then?"
"Nothing" she said and chuckled at their confused expressions.
"What happened was that he awakened a bloodline ability to do with manipulating metal"
"WHAT?!" shouted the two genin in unison.
The nurse laughed again "Well, perhaps you can ask him about it when he wakes up. I must be going now, there are plenty more patients that require my help".
She began walking off before turning back to pass on one final remark.
"You can stay as long as you want within reason, he could use the company" and with that, she continued to another room down the hall.
Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other again, troubled by what they had heard.
Hinata reached for the door first and slowly opened it before stepping in, Sasuke right behind her.
A quick glance around the room showed that all of the monitoring apparatus, as well as the bed Naruto lead on in the middle of the room had all been fixed down or to a surface.
'No doubt to prevent Naruto from moving them in his sleep' thought Sasuke, he remembered being told of the more unstable abilities bloodlines could grant.
"H-Hey" spoke Sasuke, when he noticed Hinata had approached Naruto's side without him.
The two looked down into the face of their friend who was, at present turning in his sleep.
Naruto's heart started to race, as if agitated by their arrival, the monitors struggling to record the sudden jump.
Sasuke could see the look on Hinata's face, and despite the circumstances', let a rare smile show through his normally dismissive façade.
She would never admit it, but it was as plain as the nose on her face that she cared for Naruto.
Perhaps time would tell whether it was simply in repayment for helping her in darkest times, or something more.
In that moment, Sasuke moved his hand to cover hers that were already over Naruto's, as the two wished their friend a swift recovery.
One thing is for certain.
Bonds of absolute trust were laid that day, bonds that would transcend, even death.